Magistrate Qian was suffering bitterly inside.
Damn it, he had finally managed to placate those plagues from the Demon Suppression Bureau and was just about to send them off. What were these monks doing here, joining the commotion?
Was the scene not chaotic enough already?!
He could curse all he wanted in his heart, but he did not dare show the slightest disrespect on his face.
The leading monk ignored the magistrate's embarrassment. He merely fixed his gaze on Jiang Yuechu, pressed his palms together, and gave a slight bow.
"This humble monk is Huiming of Jeweled Temple. Greetings, my lady."
He pointed to the young monk behind him, who also had his palms together but wore an arrogant expression.
"This is my junior brother, Huiyuan."
By rights, the other party was an eminent monk from Jeweled Temple and had taken the initiative to greet her. Whether by sentiment or propriety, she should have risen and returned the gesture.
Yet she remained seated, as immovable as Mount Tai.
That posture was no longer merely discourteous. It showed that she simply did not take him seriously at all.
Huiyuan's face darkened at once. Anger flashed between his brows as he opened his mouth to rebuke her.
"You..."
"Junior brother."
The anger on Huiyuan's face stalled. In the end, he forcibly suppressed it, merely snorting coldly and turning his head aside.
Huiming shook his head, that calm, unruffled smile still hanging on his face. He turned to Magistrate Qian.
"Lord Qian, this humble monk wishes to speak with this female benefactor alone for a few words. Might you accommodate us?"
"This..." Magistrate Qian looked at Jiang Yuechu awkwardly.
On one side stood the Demon Suppression Bureau; on the other, Jeweled Temple. He could not afford to offend either.
Jiang Yuechu finally raised her eyes and looked calmly at Huiming for a long while.
After quite some time.
She said, "Everyone, leave."
The moment those words fell, Liu Ke and the others were all stunned.
"Team Leader..."
"Go, go, go. The higher-ups are talking. What are we standing around here for?"
Quick-eyed and quick-handed, Bujie grabbed Liu Ke, who still wanted to say something, then shoved Chen Tong and the others who stood frozen in place, dragging and herding them outside.
Though everyone harbored doubts, Jiang Yuechu's expression remained unchanged. They could only follow Bujie, retreating from the hall alongside the magistrate and Huiyuan.
Creak.
The hall doors slowly closed.
For a time, the atmosphere in the courtyard was rather awkward.
Unlike the others' silence, Liu Ke's face was as dark as water as he glared hostilely at the equally displeased Huiyuan.
"Jeweled Temple certainly carries itself with great authority."
"You raised demons in captivity and brought calamity upon the region. Now that the truth has come to light, you want to use Buddhism's name to brush the matter aside?"
"What kind of Buddha are you people cultivating?"
Huiyuan had already been holding back a bellyful of rage. He sized Liu Ke up from head to toe, then suddenly seemed to remember something. A look of realization appeared on his face.
"So it was you—the bastard from Falling Goose Villa who cannot see the light of day."
"What? Took some anger at the villa and had nowhere to vent it, so you came here to run wild before me?"
The moment those words came out, Liu Ke was enraged beyond endurance. He immediately drew his sword. "You're courting death!"
"Oh, my! You two—my lords!"
Seeing that the two were about to fight, Magistrate Qian was so frightened that his soul nearly flew from his body. He hurriedly spread his arms and blocked the space between them.
"You mustn't, you mustn't! This is the county office! Harmony brings wealth; harmony is precious!"
Compared to the tense clamor outside, the room within was quiet to an excessive degree.
Huiming casually walked over and sat down beside Jiang Yuechu.
Without a hint of disgust, he picked up the teacup before him, though heaven knew who had drunk from it, and tipped back his head for a sip.
"Fine tea."
He set down the cup and let out a satisfied sigh.
It was as though he had sampled not crude tea dregs, but nectar and jade liquor.
"My lady must be laughing at me."
"This matter was indeed caused by Jeweled Temple's lax discipline. That beast descended the mountain without permission, disturbed the local region, and troubled the esteemed officials of the Demon Suppression Bureau. This humble monk truly feels deeply ashamed."
"This humble monk came here first under my sect's orders to take that sinful beast back and keep it under strict watch. Second, I came to apologize to you, my lady."
From the broad sleeve of his monk's robe, he withdrew a banknote and gently pushed it before Jiang Yuechu.
"This is five hundred taels of silver."
"I know that you and your brothers have traveled all the way from Liangzhou Prefecture and suffered greatly along the road. Consider this small sum a token of this humble monk's regard, to welcome you all and wash away the dust of travel."
"And besides..."
Huiming paused, the smile on his face deepening by several degrees.
"Jeweled Temple owes you a favor."
A favor.
Those two words carried weight a thousandfold greater than five hundred taels of silver.
Longyou Circuit was filled with martial sects and factions of every stripe, their roots and connections tangled and intertwined.
As one of the three great leaders, Jeweled Temple had stood firm for centuries without falling.
The depth of its foundations and the breadth of its connections had long surpassed the bounds of an ordinary martial sect.
This favor meant that anywhere within Longyou Circuit, no matter how great a mess one caused—
So long as it was not treason or rebellion, Jeweled Temple could settle it for you.
Huiming looked at the girl's utterly unruffled face, and the smile at his lips deepened further.
He believed that no one could refuse such terms.
She was merely a minor Team Leader. To gain a favor from Jeweled Temple was already a heaven-sent opportunity.
However.
Jiang Yuechu did not look at the banknote. Instead, she asked calmly, "Did the beast under your sect harm people here?"
The smile on Huiming's face stiffened slightly.
He had clearly not expected her to ask such an untimely question.
Then he shook his head and laughed.
"A beast is hard to tame by nature. Once it descends the mountain and its belly grows hungry, it cannot help but open its appetite for meat."
"But rest assured, my lady. They were only a few rustic villagers. Not many died. It will never alarm the higher authorities, nor will it put you in a difficult position."
Jiang Yuechu finally raised her eyes and stared straight at him.
"How many died?"
"..."
The smile on Huiming's face faded somewhat.
After a long while.
"Each year, natural disasters and man-made calamities take the lives of countless commoners. Why must my lady cling to the matter of these few people?"
He sighed, then took another banknote from his sleeve, stacked it atop the first, and pushed them forward.
"Very well. This humble monk did not consider the matter thoroughly enough."
"I shall add another five hundred taels and make it a round thousand taels of silver, along with a favor from Jeweled Temple. On this trip, you will not only be able to account to the Regional Command, but also gain a windfall and forge a good connection. Why not?"
"..."
Jiang Yuechu let out a long breath.
One thousand taels of silver.
Plus a favor from Jeweled Temple.
The terms he offered were indeed tempting.
She had never thought of herself as a good person.
Before the Tiger Demon, she had personally killed the half-dead Pei Changqing, only then gaining a sliver of life that allowed her cheat ability to awaken.
She did not regret it.
If she had to do it again, she would still make the same choice.
But she had had no choice then.
Had she not done so, she would have long since been buried in the Tiger Demon's belly. By now, she would probably have turned into a lump of shit.
But now, the choice rested entirely on a single thought of hers.
Would she swallow her pride and accept his terms?
Or...
Jiang Yuechu suddenly laughed.
One could not speak too much of righteousness in a lifetime, but one ought to have at least a little of it.
Otherwise, living that way would be far too dull.
She extended two fingers and slowly pushed the two banknotes on the table back.
The smile on Huiming's face stiffened slightly.
"What does my lady mean by this?"
"It means nothing."
Jiang Yuechu rose to her feet and looked down at him. "I simply think your favor is not worth much."
Huiming's expression finally darkened.
"My lady should think this through."
"For the sake of several unrelated mud-legged peasants, is it worth becoming enemies with Jeweled Temple?"
Outside the hall.
Magistrate Qian was wedged between Liu Ke and Huiyuan, his fat face full of misery. He only wished he could turn and flee on his legs.
"My lords, my lords, speak peacefully! Speak peacefully!"
How could Liu Ke listen to persuasion? Though the longsword in his hand remained sheathed, sword intent already radiated sharply from it. He glared at Huiyuan and said word by word, "Since when did the Demon Suppression Bureau's investigations require an outsider like you to point fingers here?!"
Huiyuan, however, began to laugh sinisterly, his eyes filled with mockery.
"What? You think you can use the Demon Suppression Bureau's name to suppress me?"
"My Jeweled Temple has stood in Longyou for centuries. Even when your Demon Suppression Bureau's Commander was here, he would have to show my Buddha three parts respect. What the hell are you?"
"Today, my senior brother is inside speaking kindly with your superior, already granting you enormous face. If you know what is good for you, tuck your tails between your legs and obediently scram back to Liangzhou Prefecture. Forget merely tolerating a demon eating a few people—even if I had personally killed them, what could your Demon Suppression Bureau do to Jeweled Temple?"
The moment those words were spoken, Liu Ke trembled all over with rage. Chen Tong and the others beside him also felt their anger surge, each of them glaring furiously.
A martial sect actually dared speak such wildly arrogant words before their Demon Suppression Bureau!
This was no longer provocation. It was naked humiliation!
"You're fucking courting death!" Chen Tong roared as he moved to draw his saber.
"Do not act rashly!"
Bujie's fat body swayed. Though he moved later, he arrived first, clamping down on Chen Tong's wrist and shaking his head at everyone.
"Do not cause trouble for Lord Jiang."
Chen Tong's movements froze. Fury churned in his eyes, but in the end, he slowly released the hand gripping his saber hilt, all the fight draining out of him at once.
What angered them was not Huiyuan's belittlement of the Demon Suppression Bureau.
It was that Huiyuan spoke the truth.
Jeweled Temple was beyond their power to offend.
This matter would most likely end exactly as Huiyuan had said, with nothing ever coming of it.
Seeing the fury everyone dared not voice, the mockery at Huiyuan's lips grew ever thicker.
Liu Ke looked at Huiyuan's arrogant face, then at the black uniform with crimson patterns of the Demon Suppression Bureau upon himself. It suddenly seemed unbearably glaring.
"I drifted through the martial world, then joined the Demon Suppression Bureau... when all was said and done, what was the difference?"
Bujie sighed and leaned close to his ear. "There is still a difference."
"One is a house cat; the other is a stray cat."
Magistrate Qian listened from the side, his heart pounding with fright. His legs trembled so badly that he could barely remain standing.
Damn it, Jeweled Temple was this tyrannical?
It seemed he would have to hurry to the temple later and burn a few more sticks of high-quality incense.
No, he needed to set up memorial tablets specifically for Jeweled Temple's Buddhas in his backyard and make offerings to them every day!
Just as everyone in the courtyard was lost in different thoughts.
A sudden explosive sound rang through the courtyard!
Crack!
The heavy door to the hall shattered into countless pieces in an instant!
Amid the shower of splintered wood, a white figure flew backward, spraying a crimson arc of blood through the air.
Wrapped in a tremendous force, the figure crashed down with a boom, smashing apart the bluestone floor of the courtyard. It rolled several times before finally bleeding off that terrifying force.
A white-robed monk lay sprawled miserably on the ground, half his face swollen high, blood at the corner of his mouth. Not a trace remained of his former solemn, treasure-like appearance.
Liu Ke stood dumbfounded. Chen Tong's hand loosened from his saber hilt.
Bujie's wine gourd fell to the ground, while Magistrate Qian rolled his eyes and nearly fainted dead away.
Everyone in the courtyard, including the once-unrivaled Huiyuan.
All stared in horror at the shattered doorway.
Behind the falling wood chips and drifting dust.
Jiang Yuechu adjusted her slightly rumpled sleeve, her expression indifferent as she slowly stepped out.
Before you continue